Imaging the Alzheimer Brain

Abstract

This supplement to the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease contains more than half of the chapters from The Handbook of Imaging the Alzheimer Brain, which was first presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Paris, in July, 2011. While the Handbook contains 27 chapters that are modified articles from 2009, 2010, and 2011 issues of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, this supplement contains the 31 new chapters of that book and this introductory article drawn from the introductions to each section of the book. The Handbook was designed to provide a multi-level overview of the full field of brain imaging related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) for students, clinicians, and scientists in the field. The Handbook, as well as this supplement, contains both reviews of the basic concepts of imaging, the latest developments in imaging, and various discussions and perspectives of the problems of the field and promising directions.

The Introduction reviews critical issues, from clinical measurement to AD neuropathological observations, that are relevant for developing neuroimaging methodology and to which neuroimaging approaches can be applied. Sections of the Handbook and this supplement cover structural imaging (CT, MRI), imaging of cerebral blood flow, metabolism, amyloid pathology, and neurofibrillary changes (PET, SPECT), functional MRI, electro-magneto-encephalographic brain mapping, Diffusion Tensor Imaging (MRI, with tractography), and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. Final sections cover longitudinal analyses (including assessment of progression and clinical endpoints), the interaction between AD and vascular pathology, and the interaction between neuroimaging and other methods, including a discussion of future directions.